Wire feeding and tensioning apparatus

ABSTRACT

A feed and tensioning roller unit is substituted for an accumulator pulley and serves the double function of accumulating as well as feeding and tensioning in a wire tying machine.

Ullifi Sttes atet 1 1 [111 3,884,139

Pasic May 20, 1975 WIRE FEEDING AND TENSIONING 2,912,099 11/1959 Brouse et al 100/26 X PARAT 3,037,535 6/1962 Linehan et al... 140/115 AP Us 3,447,448 6/1969 Pasic .1 [/26 X [75] Inventor: James A. Pasic, Aberdeen, Wash.

73 A O H I H FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1 s rappmg Oqmam 672,758 10/1963 Canada 100/26 ash.

[22] Filed: June 1973 Primary Examiner-Billy J. Wilhite 21 APPL 3 9 1 Attorney, Agent, or FirmSeed, Berry, Vernon &

- Baynham [52] [1.8. CI 100/26; 100/31 511 1m. (:1 Bb 13/04 [57] ABSTRACT Field of Search A feed and tensioning roller unit is substituted for an /115 accumulator pulley and serves the double function of accumulating as well as feeding and tensioning in a [56] References Cited wire tying machine.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 2,575,899 11/1951 Vining et al. 100/26 I l 1 I I8 I l 24- PMENTED MAY 2 0 I975 WIRE FEEDING AND TENSIONING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention pertains to wire tying machines of the type designed to form a loop of wire, strap, or similar binding material tightly around a package to be Wrapped.

2. Description of the Prior Art Wire tying machines'of the type presently being used employ a feeding and tensioning unit for the wire directly beneath the package carrying conveyors at the tying station. Typical of these machines is the wire tying machine described in US. Pat. No. 3,447,448. In the machine of this patent wire enters the feeding and tensioning unit through a tube coming from a pulley at the bottom of a wire accumulator. The wire accumulator is, in effect, a storage chamber where the wire in excess of that required to go around the package is stored during the tensioning part of the cycle in which the wire is rapidly reversed in direction. When reversed the wire forms a loop in the accumulator. The excess wire loop is formed in the accumulator from a flanged accumulator pulley located in the accumulator.

The existing technique as described above has presented several problems. First the tensioning and feeding unit must be installed between the accumulator and the wire twisting head on the machine and as a result it is necessary to mount the unit under the package conveyor where it is difficult to service. The accumulator pulley presently in use is complicated because it must split the loop from the end of the wire fed to the feeding and tensioning unit and must be manufactured to close tolerances. As a result, it is expensive to manufacture. Also, in feeding the wire it must be wrapped around the accumulator pulley and pushed from the accumulator to the pinch of the feed rolls in the feeding and tensioning unit. This is quite difficult especially with large diameter (11 gauge for example) wire commonly used for unitizing of packages such as pulp bales.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to eliminate the separate accumulator pulley in a wire tying machine.

It is another object of this invention to provide a combined accumulating and feeding and tensioning unit at a location remote from the wire guiding means and package conveyor of the machine.

It is another object of this invention to provide an accumulating and feeding and tensioning unit for a wire tying machine which is inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.

Basically these objects are obtained by combining the accumulating and feeding tensioning functions. The functions are combined by utilizing one of the feeding and tensioning rolls as an accumulator roll and provid ing a storage compartment above this accumulating roll for receiving the loop of wire during tensioning. In the preferred form of the embodiment, the combined accumulating and feeding and tensioning unit is positioned remote from the wire tying means where it is readily accessible for threading the wire and for maintenance. In this embodiment a tube or other wire directing conduit is used to bridge the gap between the combined accumulating and feeding and tensioning units and the wire guiding means at the binding station.

Thus in this invention, one of the feed rolls serves the additional function of being an accumulator pulley. The loop of excess wire forms in an accumulating storage compartment directly from this roll. Advantageously the expensive flanged accumulator pulley formerly used is eliminated. Loading the machine is very simple since it is only necessary to push the wire around one-half of the first feed roll and then into the pinch between the rolls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a wire tying machine employing the principles of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating the combined accumulating and feeding and tensioning unit of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As best shown in FIG. 1, a typical wire tying machine is illustrated and in its broad aspects is identical to the machine of US. Pat. No. 3,447,448, the description of which is incorporated herein. This machine typically employs side compactors l0 and top compactors 12 which in the case of compressible package to be bound will compress the package while the wire is being applied. As is understood in the art, wire means cylindrical or oval wire, strap, or other flexible binding material is customarily employed. The package to be wrapped is generally carried to a binding station by conveyors 14. At the binding station, wire guides 16 guide the free end of the wire around the package to a conventional twister gripper 18 which secures the ends of the wire with the tightly tensioned wire. As thus far described, the apparatus is basically well known in the art and the details are not necessary to an understanding of the invention.

Located to the side of the basic wire tying machine is the combined accumulator and feeding and tensioning unit 18. An elongated pipe 20 directs the wire from the unit 18 to the wire guides 16. Wire is fed into the unit from a wire supply 21. The unit includes a storage compartment 22 for receiving a loop L of accumulated wire and a set of feeding and tensioning rollers. For the purpose of this description, the roller to the left as shown in FIG. 2 will be designated the first roller 24 and the roller to the right the second roller 26. The rollers are of a well known configuration such as described in US. Pat. No. 3,447,448 with the first roller rotating about a fixed axis and the second roller rotating about a concentric bearing ring which in turn is rotatably mounted eccentrically about a shaft 29. A spring 30 pushes against a lever 32 that urges the second roller against the first roller for feeding wire between the two rollers. In such a device, the wire W is fed over the first roller which is driven by a reversible motor 34, between the first and second rollers and under the second roller to the pipe 20. As the first roller 24 is rotated in the reverse direction, that is, counter-clockwise as viewed in FIG. 2, the second roller rotates about its eccentric axis to more tightly grip the wire with the net effect being that the harder the first roller 24 pulls on the wire, the harder the second roller 26 pushes and squeezes the wire against the first roller.

As is well understood in the art, the reverse operation in the tensioning cycle pulls an excess loop L of wire which is received in the storage compartment 22.

While the preferred form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it should be understood that variations will be apparent to one skilled in the art without departing from the principles thereof. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms described.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privelege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a tying machine having a supply of wire or like binding material fed to guiding means surrounding the object to be bound and having a twisting mechanism to lock the ends of the wire together, the improvement comprising combined accumulating and feeding and tensioning means for feeding the wire to the guiding means in one direction and tensioning the wire in the opposite direction, including first and second rolls having peripheral surfaces engaging the binding material therebetween and rotating in a first direction for feeding and in an opposite, second direction for tensioning, and a storage compartment having an opening therein adjacent said second roll, said binding material being entrained on a substantial portion of the circumference of said peripheral surface of said second roll, said substantial portion facing directly into said storage compartment, whereby a loop of said binding material preformed by engaging the substantial portion of said peripheral surface of said second roll will expand into said storage compartment when said rollers are rotating in said second direction.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said accumulating and feeding and tensioning means is remote from said guiding means and including a conduit for directing the binding material from the combined accumulating and feeding and tensioning means to said guiding means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, said first roll feeding the twisting mechanism and said second roll being fed from the binding material supply, said loop-forming substantial portion of said peripheral surface being approximately one-half the circumference of said second roll, said binding material passing from the binding material supply around said second roll adjacent said storage compartment, between the second and first rolls and thence to said binding material twisting mechanism.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, said first and second rolls each having a single peripheral recess engaging said binding material.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, said storage compartment further including accumulating loop guiding surfaces for directing the loop to a predetermined posilZlOl'l. 

1. In a tying machine having a supply of wire or like binding material fed to guiding means surrounding the object to be bound and hAving a twisting mechanism to lock the ends of the wire together, the improvement comprising combined accumulating and feeding and tensioning means for feeding the wire to the guiding means in one direction and tensioning the wire in the opposite direction, including first and second rolls having peripheral surfaces engaging the binding material therebetween and rotating in a first direction for feeding and in an opposite, second direction for tensioning, and a storage compartment having an opening therein adjacent said second roll, said binding material being entrained on a substantial portion of the circumference of said peripheral surface of said second roll, said substantial portion facing directly into said storage compartment, whereby a loop of said binding material preformed by engaging the substantial portion of said peripheral surface of said second roll will expand into said storage compartment when said rollers are rotating in said second direction.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said accumulating and feeding and tensioning means is remote from said guiding means and including a conduit for directing the binding material from the combined accumulating and feeding and tensioning means to said guiding means.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, said first roll feeding the twisting mechanism and said second roll being fed from the binding material supply, said loop-forming substantial portion of said peripheral surface being approximately one-half the circumference of said second roll, said binding material passing from the binding material supply around said second roll adjacent said storage compartment, between the second and first rolls and thence to said binding material twisting mechanism.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, said first and second rolls each having a single peripheral recess engaging said binding material.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, said storage compartment further including accumulating loop guiding surfaces for directing the loop to a predetermined position. 